


The Beginning of Wisdom (Or How the Doctor Learned Not to Piss Off His Mother-In-Law)

by goingtothetardis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fix-It, Jackie sets him straight, Meddling TARDIS, Mild Angst, Post-Episode: s02e04 The Girl in the Fireplace, The Doctor is a bit dense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 20:05:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12327939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/pseuds/goingtothetardis
Summary: The Doctor can't figure out why Rose is mad at him after the situation in France, and after receiving a useful suggestion from Mickey, the Doctor sets off to resolve the problem. The TARDIS, however, has other ideas and sends the Doctor to where he really needs to be.





	The Beginning of Wisdom (Or How the Doctor Learned Not to Piss Off His Mother-In-Law)

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic started a few days ago when I was randomly texting SelenaTerna while she was at work [I am a distraction, sorry], and it just became... way more than I thought it'd be. Over 6K?! What?! It's basically all I did today, lol. 
> 
> I never thought I'd write a GitF fixit again, but as it turns out, there's always room for more fixits of this debacle of an episode. (If you are sympathetic to Moffat and enjoy this episode, I'd exit this fic right about now. Please and thanks.)
> 
> This fic also fills a prompt from Timepetalsprompts: "The doctor (nine or ten) accidentally calling jackie his mother in law and she never letting it go" AND a prompt form Doctorroseprompts: "Cooking something to apologise for a fight."
> 
> Thanks to SelenaTerna for the beta/read through! Also: All credit goes to ST for the title. :D

“Rose?” The Doctor knocks on her door, for once sensing that she’d react badly to him barging unwanted into her room. “Rose, are you in there?”

“Go away,” a muffled voice calls from inside. 

“Rose, I–” What, exactly, does he want to say? It’s obvious that Rose is upset about something, but he can’t for the life of him figure out why. _Well_ , he has a few ideas, but it could be any number of things, really. “Mr. Mickey in there with you?” He can’t prevent the flash of jealousy that sparks through him at the idea of Rose taking comfort from her friend instead of himself. 

There’s a pause. “No. Dunno where he is.”

“Will you please let me in, Rose? I want to…”

“You want to what, Doctor? There’s nothing to say.” Her voice is clearer, now, as if she’s standing right on the other side of the door. 

Nothing to say? What? “Rose, if you just let me in, we can talk–.”

“No. I said, there’s nothing to say. I understand everything perfectly, now. An’ if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it just proves my point.”

The Doctor’s brow furrows in confusion, and he leans a shoulder against her door. “I’m… not sure I understand what you mean. Rose, can we please just talk?” 

“Piss off, Doctor.” 

If he’s not mistaken, he detects a slight waver to her voice, a crack in her words as she says his name. He opens his mouth to press further, but at a rather rude metal prod from the TARDIS, he snaps his jaw shut and glares at the wall. 

“Fine.” The word comes out rather abruptly, still annoyed at his ship for interfering moments before. “I’ll be in the galley if you want to talk.”

There’s no answer from Rose’s room.

With a sigh, the Doctor shoves his hands in his pockets and wanders down the corridor to the galley. His thoughts soon turn to the past day, and he admits it had gone rather pear shaped by the end. The exact source of Rose’s disgruntlement remains somewhat of a mystery to him, however. Well, she had gone and gotten herself and Mickey tied up on the tables by the droids, but he’d returned just in time, so no harm done, right? And when he’d jumped through the mirror, it’s true, yes, that he hadn’t known how he would return, but he’d found a way, even if it had taken a few hours. He always finds a way. 

Brow furrowed and deep in thought when he enters the galley, he doesn’t see Mickey scrounging around the fridge until the man’s loud grumble about the excessive amount of half-empty jam jars and lack of alcohol pulls him from his thoughts. 

“Mickey!” he calls. “Mickety McMickey. Settling in on the good ship TARDIS alright?” 

Mickey turns to him with a frown. “Good enough, yeah. Rose showed me around yesterday.”

“Good, good,” he replies somewhat absently, his thoughts still on Rose and France. 

Slamming the refrigerator door shut, the other man turns to the Doctor, arms crossed. “Where’s Rose?” 

“Hmmm?” He looks up. “Oh, she’s… She won’t come out of her room. Seems a bit upset at me, actually.” At Mickey’s snort of derision, the Doctor peers at the man. “Do you have any idea why she’s upset?”

Mickey barks out a laugh, and at the Doctor’s confused face, his eyes widen. “Oh, you really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Why does everyone else seem to know something he doesn’t? In his mind, the TARDIS heaves an exasperated sigh. 

“Yeah, you’re on your own with that one, mate,” Mickey says, clapping the Doctor on the shoulder. “Just think about what happened today. _Really_ think about it. You’ll figure it out eventually with that big brain of yours.” He moves over to the collection of sandwich fixings on the counter and pulls out a few slices of bread to make a sandwich. 

After a moment, Mickey turns to the Doctor, spreading knife up in the air. “You might consider a peace offering, to start. Rose loves her Gran’s hazelnut biscuits.”

So it’s something he’s done, then. Mickey’s comment confirms that, but he’s still bewildered by the whole situation. “Biscuits. Do you have the recipe?” 

Mickey smiles. “Nope! But Jackie does.” And with that, he stuffs a corner of his sandwich into his mouth, and walks out of the room. 

The Doctor stares at the spot recently vacated by Mickey. 

Well, that’s not going to happen, obviously. He is many things, but he’ll never be one to go to a companion’s _mother_ for relationship advice or advice of any kind. And definitely not Jackie. _Especially_ not Jackie. Knowing her, he’d walk away with a sore cheek without any questions answered. 

No, definitely not Jackie. 

But Mickey had planted a good idea in his mind, and with a spin on his Converse, he strides out of the galley toward the console room. 

If biscuits are the answer to his questions, a way to lure Rose out of her room for a rational discussion, then he knows just the place to go.

* * *

“There we go!” he calls out to no one, spinning around the console in a familiar, energetic dance as he sends the TARDIS into flight. He’s planning to pick up a box of fresh biscuits from Almondania, a planet renowned for its baked goods and sweets in the Cuulinnarian vector of the galaxy. It’s the very best place to find a sweet treat, and it’s really a travesty he hasn’t taken Rose there yet. 

The TARDIS lands with a quiet thump, and he grins, thinking about all the banana flavored treats he wants to pick up while he makes this quick jaunt to the planet. Grabbing his coat off a coral strut, the Doctor strides down the ramp and pulls the door open with a flourish, stepping out into… 

…Jackie’s living room. 

The Doctor gapes at his surroundings for a moment before frantically turning back to his ship. 

“Doctor!” a shrill voice calls out, stopping him in his tracks, and a cold dread seeps through his veins. “Rose didn’t call to say you were coming! What’re you doin’ here?”

“Ah, Jackie,” he starts, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “I’m just leaving. Didn’t exactly mean to, ah– Well, I was trying to go somewhere else, actually.” He moves to step back inside the TARDIS, but much to his dismay, the door slams shut in his face. 

“What!?” he exclaims, staring at his ship. Pulling his key out of his pocket, he fits it in the keyhole and turns. Nothing. The TARDIS remains stubbornly locked. “What!?” Reaching out for his mental connection to his ship, the Doctor demands she open the door, but his cheeky ship merely gives him the equivalent of an eye roll and a very firm negative. Well then. 

In shock, the Doctor turns to Jackie, not quite sure what to do with himself. He’s never before found himself alone with Rose’s mother, the very idea something close to a nightmare, and after the firm rejection from his ship, he’s at a bit of a loss.

“Where’s Rose?” she asks, arms crossed across her chest. 

The Doctor’s eyes flit between Jackie and his ship, and his hand reaches up to ruffle the hair on the top of his head. 

“Doctor,” Jackie says, her voice laden with unspoken threats. “Where. Is. Rose?”

With a sigh of defeat, the Doctor turns from his ship with his sigh and faces Jackie. “She’s in her room. She’s fine, Jackie. Nothing to worry about.”

Jackie studies him intently, and he tugs on his earlobe, uncomfortable under her piercing gaze. “What’d you do?”

“What!?” he squeaks. 

“You didn’t mean to come here, you just said. An’ Rose isn’t attached to your side like she usually is, an’ then your ship locked you out. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you must have done something wrong.”

“Actually, Jackie,” the Doctor switches gears smoothly, diverting from her question as he decides to focus on Mickey’s suggestion, “I was wondering if you had Rose’s Gran’s hazelnut biscuit recipe.”

Jackie smirks. “Now I know you did something, ya daft alien.”

His brow furrows in confusion. “How could you possibly know something happened?”

With a sigh and roll of her eyes, Jackie steps forward and pokes his chest. “Because I’m Rose’s _Mum_ , and this isn’t the first time one of her blokes has come to me for _relationship advice_ … without Rose.” 

The Doctor sniffs. “I’m not asking for… advice.” Relationship advice? Why does everyone always assume…? 

“Yeah?” Jackie asks, unnervingly sure of herself. “So why didn’t Rose just call me for the recipe herself?” 

Knowing Jackie won’t stop until he answers, the Doctor sighs loudly and steps around her, walking to the kitchen table and sitting down with his long legs extended in front of him as he considers how to handle this rather unfortunate situation. Despite his annoyance at his ship and the predicament in which he finds himself, perhaps Jackie could offer a… unique perspective on the events of the day. She’s Rose’s Mum, after all, and maybe she’ll know how to best approach Rose. 

Blimey. Him, a Lord of Time, going to a companion’s mother for advice. 

His last self would be appalled at the utter domesticity of the situation. He experiences the echo of a horrified shudder down his timeline and shifts in his seat. 

“Actually, Jackie,” he says, once again ignoring her question. “Maybe there is something you could help me with. Rose isn’t quite herself after our… excursion today, and I’m not quite sure why. Mickey…” he chooses his words wisely, “might have suggested I did something to put Rose out of sorts.”

Jackie follows him to the table and sits down, eyeing him with suspicion. “What do you mean, ‘not quite herself’? Why? What happened?”

“She’s, ehm… She’s locked herself in her room and refuses to talk to me,” he replies, focusing on a photo of Rose hanging on the wall behind Jackie. A youthful smile beams out of the photograph, and his hearts clench as he realizes he’ll do whatever it takes to get Rose to smile like that at him again. 

“Okay, Doctor. This is what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna make us both a nice cuppa, and then you’re gonna tell me everything that happened today. I’m sure Rose has a good reason for locking you out, and whether or not I like it, she _does_ live with you, and I want her to be happy.” Jackie gives him a firm nod before standing up and walking to the kitchen to make the tea. 

When she returns to the table with a tray, she watches with mild disgust as the Doctor dumps several spoonfuls of sugar into his tea. “Well, that explains a lot,” she mutters. 

“What’s that, Jackie?” he asks, knowing full well what she’d said. 

“Nothing.” She sips her tea with an innocent look frighteningly reminiscent of Rose, before continuing. “So, what’d you do to make Rose lock herself in her room? Better start at the beginning.”

“Eh, well, here goes,” he starts, and launches into a description of how they’d landed on the eerily empty 51st century spaceship with portals to eighteenth century France. He tells Jackie of his encounters with Reinette Poisson, from childhood to adulthood, and how he’d eventually discovered that the clock-work droids had focused their attentions on the Madame in an attempt to use her brain to power their ship. 

“And then she _snogged_ me! Me! Madame de Pompadour snogged me!” He’s not really sure why he’s telling Jackie about the snogging, but once it’d slipped out of his mouth, he hadn’t been able to stop.

“Oh, you are kiddin’ me! And you wonder why Rose locked you out! Thought you were s’posed to be a genius! Must just be air up in that great big head of yours.”

“I _am_ a genius, Jackie.”

Jackie simply sighs in exasperation and leans over the table to thwack the Doctor lightly upside the head. 

“Oi, what was that for?” he protests, rubbing the spot, even though it doesn’t hurt.

“You bleedin’ idiot. You kissed another woman, an’ then pranced around braggin’ about it in front of Rose! Think about it, Doctor.” 

Why would him bragging about kissing another woman– Oh. _Oh._ But then that would mean… His eyes widen in shock and he stares at Jackie.

“There it is,” Jackie says, rolling her eyes. “But that’s not all, is it?”

The Doctor swallows heavily. “Not as such, no.”

Jackie waves at him. “Well, get on with it, then.” 

He explains the rest of his encounter with Madame de Pompadour, intentionally leaving out the intrusive mental invasion from Reinette when he’d looked in her mind, describing how she’d invited him to the ball and then how he’d saved Mickey and Rose from the clock-work droids just in time. Jackie makes an infuriated screech at this, but he hurriedly continues the story before she can get a word in over him.

“They’re _fine_ , Jackie. I promise. I just pretended to be a bit tipsy and dance happy to throw off the droids, and then I bested them. Ha!” He punches his hand in the air, trying to banish the memory of the cold fury he’d experienced upon finding Rose (and Mickey) strapped to the tables, about to be cut to pieces by the droids. 

“So then what?”

“Well, I figured out the right time to save Reinette, and I took the horse and jumped through the time window. I had to save the timelines, Jackie. History demanded it, but in order to save Reinette’s life, I had to leave Rose and Mickey on the spaceship without a way to get myself back.”

At this, Jackie holds up her hand, and he claps his mouth shut. “You bleedin’ alien. You left my daughter on a murderous spaceship without any way to get off! You left her for some blond French bint without a second thought!” Jackie’s thunderous expression makes him lean back in his seat, and she flounders in anger a moment before pouring herself another cup of tea, as if the action provides some sort of soothing comfort.

“I had to preserve the timelines, Jackie!” he protests, knowing full well his argument is weak and invalid in the face of Jackie’s wrath.

“An’ you just up and left Rose and Mickey thousands of years in the future! Do you ever think about what your actions mean to other people, Doctor?” Jackie levels him with a fierce glare.

“You think I don’t know that I just left her there!? She’s all I could think about the entire time I was in France. The moment I jumped through that mirror, I knew I buggered it all up, but I’m a Time Lord. I had to fix it. It’s my duty. I just didn’t see another way at the time…” He trails off, allowing the guilt to consume him. 

“So how’d you get back?”

The Doctor sighs, slumping forward onto the table with his elbows. In a flat voice, he answers. “After I sorted everything with the droids, Reinette showed me the original fireplace from her childhood home. It had a separate link to the ship, and it took me back. I invited her along, you know, but time windows are tricky, and when I went back for her, she–” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “Some time had passed, and she’d just died.” 

With a shrewd gaze, Jackie studies him, and he avoids looking at her. “Did you love her, this Reinette?” 

He looks up in surprise. “What? No, of course not. She was… a curiosity. A distraction from–” Oh, bugger, he hadn’t meant to say that. He tugs on his ear and glances away. “Well, anyway… She was a mystery. I only knew her for a few hours, and she knew me most of her life. I was an infatuation for her, that’s all.”

“D’you love Rose?” Jackie casually sips her tea, a raised eyebrow the only indication of the seriousness behind her question.

“I– Rose– She’s–” He pauses, his eyes wide as he tries to gather his thoughts before his mouth runs off without him. “It’s not so simple, Jackie.”

Jackie sighs and looks into her tea. “Rose’ll probably kill me if she knew I was telling you this, but… As much as I don’t understand it, my daughter is arse over kettle for you, Doctor. You’re two peas in a pod, you are.” She nods when his jaw falls open in surprise. “An’ then you go an’ leave her alone on some spaceship – _leave her for another woman_ , mind you – an’ when she thought her feelings might be reciprocated, how d’ya think that’ll make a girl feel? You kissed this French girl, _danced_ with her, even, and you just blathered away about how important she is in front of Rose. Now. My Rose is strong, jus’ as important as some aristocratic French whore, but it sounds like you were just a bit too enamored with this Reinette.”

Details of the day, drawn into this questionable light by Jackie, fall into place, and the reason for Rose’s anger becomes clear. His hearts initially warm with Jackie’s revelation, but as his true actions are highlighted, a lead weight forms in his stomach. “Oh.” 

“Yeah, ‘oh.’” Jackie pushes back from the table and walks to a little box sitting on the counter. She takes out a rectangular card and taps it against the counter for a few times before looking at him. “My daughter would give her life for you, Doctor. Would you do the same for her?”

_Yes._ He had, in fact, done that already, and would do it again if he had to, but now’s not the time to share that information with Jackie. Pressing his lips together, he doesn’t answer. 

Jackie pulls out another card from the box and quietly writes something down for a few minutes. Finally, she walks over to him and places a card in front of him. “My Mum’s hazelnut biscuit recipe. Make sure to watch the timer, Doctor, because they’re a bit dry if you overcook them, an’ Rose likes them just perfect. Twelve minutes exactly.”

The Doctor stares at the card in his hand, not really comprehending the words, as his mind works furiously to process Jackie’s lecture.

“Now,” Jackie says, standing in front of him with a hand on her hip and a finger pointing at him, “listen here, Time Lord.”

The Doctor turns to Jackie and blinks, sitting up straight as he attempts to ready himself for what she’s about to say.

“My daughter is not a play thing. No, hear me out.” She holds up a hand to stop him when he opens his mouth to argue. “I think you love her, whatever that means to you in your weird alien ways. I dunno. But you can’t string Rose along like she’s something easily replaced, because you and I both know she’s not. It took me a long time to realize it, but she’s made for this life with you, and I won’t stand by and watch you treat her like you did today. She’s better than that and deserves the universe. _You_ gave her that, Doctor. Now get your head out of your arse and do something about it.” At the end of her speech, she exhales deeply and smiles at him in a way that makes his blood turn to ice. “Or so help me, I’ll do it for you.” 

The Doctor stares at Jackie. “Blimey, you’re a terrifying mother-in-law.” Eyes widening in shock, he realizes what he’s just said. “I mean– Blimey!”

The breath whooshes out of Jackie at his words. _“Did you just call me your mother-in-law?!”_

The Doctor finds that for once in his life, he has no words, and his jaw moves uselessly as he tries to come up with _something_ to cover his enormous slip. 

“Doctor!” 

He stares back at her, and silly human expressions about deer and headlamps flit through his mind. Several seconds pass, and words continue to elude him.

Jackie crosses her arms across her chest. “Doctor, if you don’t answer me _right now_...” she trails off threateningly. 

Reaching back to tug at the hair on the back of his neck, the Doctor looks everywhere but at Jackie. “ _Wellllll_ , we’ve only officially been married twelve times, but you know the universe– different places and customs, and these things happen sometimes when you travel through time and space. Actually, maybe it’s only eleven times. That time on Trellgron Hafffluxxx didn’t count, because Rose never actually _ate_ the sacrificial mundder penis. No idea why, really. _Welllllll_ , actually I do. Mundder penis leaves a horrible aftertaste in the mouth,” he babbles, as he desperately wills his gob to just stop talking. Why is he telling Jackie this? Why had he called her his _mother-in-law_?! Of all the idiotic things he’s done in his life, this one has to take the cake. 

Suddenly, a loud smack rings out, and his cheek aches in pain. “OI!” he shouts. “What’d you do that for?”

“You– You– You _bleedin’_ alien git!” Jackie points a finger at him, and her eyes flash with rage. “I’m sorry, but Rose never would, and someone had to do it. You hear that? Rose. Never. Would.”

Never would, what?

As if she’d heard his mind – and isn’t that a terrifying thought – Jackie answers. “Rose would never raise a hand against you, but you deserved it, Doctor. Kissin’ another woman an’... an’ doing what you did when you’re married to my daughter! An’ don’t even get me started about that!” She stops to take a breath and then her eyes widen. “Does Rose even know she’s married to you?”

Blimey. Averting his gaze and rubbing his sore cheek, he says, “Er, well, according to Rose’s customs and traditions, they aren’t real weddings, but yes, yes she knows!” The words fall from his mouth in reaction to Jackie’s thunderous expression. “It’s not like,” he takes a deep breath in, “it’s not like they’re real for us or anything.” He can’t keep the edge of disappointment from his voice. “Just part of the adventure, really. We have a good laugh and forget about them.” 

Much to his relief, Jackie’s expression softens slightly at his explanation, but she’s clearly trying to decide what to say next with her furrowed brow and open mouth. “You…” Finally, she chuckles. “Barking mad, the pair of ya. What’s a muddy penis? Wait–” She holds up a hand. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Just…” For a moment, her expression is contemplative, like she really does want to know about the mundder penis, but then she comes back to herself. “No. Just, no.”

The Doctor, still tense and now gripping his chair as if it’s the only thing holding him present in the moment, holds his breath. 

“Now, Doctor, I think you’ve overstayed your welcome today. Get out of here – and for the _love of God_ , stop parking your barmy ship in my living room – and go apologize to my daughter and think about what she means to you, or so help me, you’ll be feeling that slap through your next generation.”

Shoving the recipe card into his pocket, the Doctor stands up so suddenly, the chair tips back behind him. “Right,” he says, before turning and striding the few short steps to his ship. Thankfully, she opens under his key, and at the door he pauses, turning to Jackie. “Er, thanks.” Slamming the door behind him, he runs to the console to take his ship far, _far_ away from Jackie’s. 

Collapsing in the jump seat after parking the ship in the Vortex, the Doctor thinks about everything Jackie told him. She’s right, of course, but he’ll never admit that to her face. Rose deserves the universe, and he’d treated her like a secondhand outcast, all for the sake of his own selfish fears about her mortality and upholding his obligations as a Time Lord.

It’s little wonder she’d misinterpreted his actions with Reinette and locked herself away from him. He’d lock himself away from himself if he could, and despite his many attempts to do so, it’s just not possible. 

Rose is _everything_ to him, and he’d done a piss poor job of showing her that. Human emotions are so different – but no less powerful – from those of a Time Lord, and Jackie’s lecture had given him a glimpse into Rose’s heart and the pain she must be feeling as a result of his actions. 

Well, that won’t do. Standing up, the Doctor brushes off his trousers and walks determinedly toward the galley. Rose’s happiness is more important than his own stupidity, and he aims to begin the process of forgiveness and admitting his wrongs with a warm plate of Rose’s favorite biscuits.

* * *

Four batches of hazelnut biscuits later (the last batch finally removed from the oven at exactly the right time), the Doctor stands nervously in front of Rose’s door. Raising one hand, he knocks softly. 

“What?” a tired voice asks softly. 

“Rose, it’s me. It’s the Doctor. Can I– may I come in?” he asks, attempting to be a perfect gentleman. 

“Told you to piss off.”

Biting back a sigh, the Doctor refuses to be swayed, even if he has to have a one-sided conversation through the door. Knowing she won’t let him in, he bends over to place the plate of cookies on the floor, then after a moment’s hesitation, sits back against her door. When he cautiously asks the TARDIS if it’s okay from him to stay here, she merely hums in a way that suggests she doesn’t have an opinion on the matter. Oh, well, _now_ , when he actually wants an opinion, she doesn’t give one. 

He deserves the annoyed mental poke the TARDIS gives him.

Shifting his body so his mouth faces toward the door, he says, “Rose, I’m… I’m sorry for everything I did today.”

There’s a beat of silence from inside the room. “Oh, figured it out, did you?” Her voice is heavy with sarcasm. 

“Mmmm, well, I had some help.” 

She sighs. 

“I’m a bit daft.” 

“‘M not gonna argue with that.” 

Ouch. But he deserves it, and swallowing his pride, he continues. “I, uh, ran into Mickey in the galley, and he suggested baking your Gran’s hazelnut biscuits. Thing is, I didn’t have the recipe, so I decided to pick up some sweets from this great little planet–”

Rose clears her throat in apparent irritation, as though she sensed an impending lecture on culinary planets.

“Er, right. Well, the TARDIS took me to Jackie’s instead.”

There’s silence on the other side of the door, so he takes it as encouragement to continue. 

“Jackie figured it out before I did, that I messed up, somehow. It’s uncanny, really, the way that woman can– er,” he realizes talking negatively about Jackie might not be the way to win back Rose’s heart. “Anyways, I told her about today. About France and the spaceship and the clock-work droids and…” He pauses here, drawing in a deep breath. “And Reinette.”

His ears pick up a faint gasp from inside Rose’s room, but otherwise, silence prevails. 

The Doctor considers how to proceed. It’d be easy to make a list of every stupid thing he’d done, but some part of him instinctively knows that’s not what Rose needs to hear right now. 

“Rose, I’m sorry. I treated you horribly today, and you didn’t deserve that. You never deserve to be treated as anything less than the kind, compassionate, warm-hearted, and beautiful woman that you are. I…” He takes a deep breath, knowing that if nothing else, he has to say this bit. “I’ve been intentionally holding you at arm’s length, trying to avoid how I… how much I... feel for you, selfishly trying to protect you from me… and me from myself.”

There’s the soft sound of someone sniffling behind the door. 

“When I discovered the time windows and Reinette, I was curious. She offered the kind of distraction I was looking for after… after what I almost said when we were dealing with the Krillitane, and I allowed myself to get caught up in the moment.” 

Oh, how he hates himself. Hearing himself say it out loud makes him realize that Rose doesn’t deserve someone like him. He’d been a git, the worst kind of monster, to the one who makes this life worth living. “I’m a git, one hundred percent, that’s me. Resident alien git, here.”

“You kissed her,” Rose’s says from her room, ignoring his attempts at humor.

He cringes, shame coursing through his body. “Well, technically she–”

“Doctor.”

“Right, yes. I kissed her.” He knows there’s nothing he can say to make it better, so for once in his life, he keeps his answer simple.

“You danced with her,” she continues. There’s something else to her voice, now, a hollowness of sorts that makes him wonder if– _Ooooooh._

The memories of “datin’ and dancin’” run through his mind, and he now understands the double entendre to Rose’s words. “Oh, no no no. Rose, we just danced. At the ball, on the dance floor. That’s all. I wouldn’t… ever. Only with, well, there’s only one person I have any interest in _dancing_ with, and it’s certainly not Reinette Poisson.”

There’s a long silence, and he holds his breath. 

“How can I believe all that when you just left me? Left _us_ , Doctor? Like we’re just a couple of useless apes. I’m not important like _her_ ,” she says the word like she just ate something bitter. “I’m never gonna live up to what she did.”

“Oh, Rose,” the Doctor says, his hearts clenching at Rose’s assessment of herself. “You are. You are so important. You’re so much more than you think you are. Think about all the lives you’ve saved on our adventures, all the compassion and hope and love you’ve shared with those we’ve met. You’ve stopped cataclysmic wars from happening, just because you were able to get two opposing sides to compromise. There’s only one Rose Tyler in this universe, and quite frankly, you’re irreplaceable. I’m lost without you,” he adds, remembering the words he’d said to her in ancient Rome. 

More sniffles filter through the door, and the Doctor looks down to the ground and spots the cookies. “I made your Gran’s cookies. Got a plate for you here, if you want. Took me a few tries, but eventually they turned out. I think the TARDIS was playing with the temperature on purpose, making me work for it. Bloody meddling ship.” He’s rambling, now, and knows it, but it’s easier than thinking about the very real possibility of Rose leaving, of Rose turning her back on him because of his complete and utter stupidity. 

Feet shuffle across the room, and the door cracks open. Rose’s face appears, blotchy with tears and runny mascara. “Biscuits? The hazelnut ones?”

“Yep!” the Doctor says, popping the ‘p’. 

Rose holds her hand out for the plate, and she opens the door wide enough to pull the cookies inside. When she doesn’t immediately shut the door in his face, his hearts soar. She leans against the wall next to her door, closing her eyes when she bites into the treat. After the first biscuit, she sighs, and turns her head to look at him.

“You were a complete arsehole today. And not just today, Doctor. I feel like we got too close, too close to being something _more_ , then you panicked and pushed me away. And it _hurt_. If you’re gonna keep doing that, I’m not sure if…” She takes a deep breath. “I’m not sure if I’m strong enough for that. You’re right, I _am_ worth more than the way you made me feel today. You taught me that.” When her voice cracks on the last word, she picks up another biscuit and shoves it in her mouth.

The Doctor swallows heavily, knowing there’s one more thing Rose needs to know about. “Rose, there’s one more thing. I don’t want to tell you, not really, but I’m trying to be honest about what happened.”

She turns to him and places the plate of biscuits on the ground. “What?” she asks, a nervous waver to her voice.

“I had to look inside Reinette’s mind to see what the droids found so interesting about her, and she–” He takes a deep breath, reliving the uncomfortable invasion of his own privacy. “She somehow pushed past my shields and saw inside my mind, just surface level thoughts, mind, but for someone to do that to a telepath, it’s highly invasive and rude. A complete no-no, an extreme faux paux. Granted, she didn’t know any better, but her presence in my mind was wrong and uncomfortable, and it’s only with explicit preemptive permission and trust that I’d ever let someone inside my mind. I just… I wanted you to know the truth.”

“She did that?” Rose gapes at him. “That complete _cow_.”

“And,” the Doctor continues in a rush, eager to confess this last tidbit of information before Rose receives a phone call from Jackie. “ImayhavecalledJackiemymotherinlaw.”

Rose blinks at the change in topic, and her forehead scrunches up as she processed his words. “You called Mum… Why would you call her that?” She bites her bottom lip, almost like she’s trying to hold back a laugh.

He tugs on an earlobe. “Because, well, you know we’ve accidentally gotten married all those times, right?”

“Right,” Rose answers. “But I don’t see why– Oh my God. Doctor, are we _married_!? You said that always happens and not to worry about it. An’ then we have a laugh and carry on as usual. Oh my God.” 

“We _aren’t_ married – well, except on those eleven planets – and until you’re married according to the customs of your culture, you have nothing to worry about.” He shifts, pulling his legs around so he’s cross-legged and facing Rose.

The brief, light hearted moment between them fades away, leaving an awkward silence in its wake. 

“I hope you can forgive me, Rose,” he says softly.

With a sigh, Rose pushes herself up from her seat against the wall and mirrors his seated position. “I forgive you, Doctor. But–” She holds a hand up to keep him from interrupting. “You can’t push me away anymore. I deserve to know what you want. I’m not asking for you to confess your undying love or anythin’, but the hot and cold? The flirtin’ and cuddlin’ one minute and then asking Mickey along and running after some French blonde the next, just because you can’t face your feelings? That can’t happen. If you tell me we can never be anything more than what we are now, then I’ll be fine, I’ll find a way to–”

Determined to show his willingness to make good on his words, the Doctor leans forward and cuts her off mid sentence when he places a gentle kiss on her lips. It’s soft, the lightest brush of his lips against hers, and he pulls away before she has time to react. 

Rose stares at him, her tongue darting out to taste her bottom lip. The Doctor follows the movement, sparing a brief thought about how he’d like to spend more time acquainting himself with that particularly tantalizing piece of flesh, before flicking his eyes back to hers. “You’re what I want, Rose. Whatever you’re willing to give. And if you say no, it’s nothing less than I deserve. But I want you. I’m tired of running away.”

“Oh.” Rose continues to stare at him, and after a moment, her cheeks tinge with pink. “Yeah, okay,” she says, then smiles. It doesn’t stretch across her face quite the way it did before Deffry Vale, but it’s a start. “I’m not letting you off the hook completely, because you _were_ a complete wanker. But the biscuits help. An’ you apologizin’,” she adds, before grabbing another biscuit and bringing it to her mouth. “But if you ever kiss another woman when you’re married to me,” she says, eyes flashing with both humor and irritation, “I’m telling my Mum.”

“Don’t worry, when she found out, she slapped me hard enough to remind me of my actions for a long time,” the Doctor notes, rubbing his cheek again. 

“Well, good. Cos she know I won’t do it. I’m just too good,” she replied, eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Yes, you are, Rose Tyler. Yes, you are.”

Rose cocks her head to the side and studies him, then pushes herself off the floor and reaches for his hand. He takes it gladly and jumps up. With a gentle tug, he pulls her close, and the tension that’s existed in his muscles since the space station quickly dissipates. She wraps her arms around his middle, sighing softly into his chest, and he grins into her hair. 

A new adventure is only just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at goingtothetardis.tumblr.com!
> 
> (I'm still procrastinating on my Eight/Rose fic... I'll get it done eventually.)


End file.
